General "Mad Anthony" Wayne was quite a memorable historical figure in Ohio history during the American Revolutionary War. Wayne was given the nickname "Mad Anthony" due to his brash and impetuous persona as a brigadier general.
Ringo Jones, lead vocalist and guitarist of Cincinnati band Mad Anthony, uses Wayne as a muse.
''There is a street in Cincinnati called Mad Anthony, and everyone asks if we were named after the street,'' he said. ''We always say, 'No!' We are named after the man! I can't remember how the name came about, but when we did some homework through Wikipedia, we found out that 'Mad Anthony' Wayne was a pretty interesting dude, so we went with the name. It seems pretty fitting now.''
Jones said Mad Anthony is busy by the minute. The band is in the process of releasing their latest self-titled full-length album on the Cincinnati indie label Phratry Records. Jones said the new album will be available at Sunday's show at Cedars, before its official release on June 2.
"We spent most of January and February recording our new record,'' Jones said. ''We spent 22 days on the road in March, and we've been busy doing the weekend warrior deal through all of April and May. The new record includes 12 heat-seeking missiles, set to destroy anyone and everyone's eardrums."
Mad Anthony - Jones, vocals and guitar; Adam Flaig, guitar and vocals; and Marc Sherlock, drums - has been together since September of 2007. During his pre-Mad Anthony days, Jones played in a band called FATBOAT, whose sound he described as more on the ''rock side of rockabilly."
Fact Box
WHO: Album and Mad Anthony
WHEN: 10 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: Cedar's Lounge, 23 N. Hazel St., Youngstown
HOW MUCH: $5
"I was playing in FATBOAT while I was attending college at Ohio University in Athens,'' he said. ''We toured the Midwest a lot. With that band it was a different time because online services at the time like Napster and MySpace were all brand new. Those were the days we had to call the venues to get a show."
Mad Anthony's previous discography includes "Mad Anthony EP" (2008), "I Spent All My Money On Speed Metal" (2010) and "Mad Anthony and The Yellow Belts (from Lexington , Kentucky)" on XMAS Cactus Records (2011).
''The new self-titled record shows that we know a lot more than we did when we started. The new record is us doing what we do best, which is hard hitting rock 'n'roll, big drums, cool riffs, and melodies that get stuck in listeners' heads for weeks. It's by far the most well-rounded of our releases. Each song stands on its own. Each of us fought for the song and not for our parts, and it was the most unselfish songwriting and recording I've witnessed," Jones said.
Jones said that the band's 2010 release "I Spent All My Money On Speed Metal," is the most punk of all the Mad Anthony releases and captures the band's party years.
"We didn't know what the next phase was and we didn't care,'' he said. ''The album is aggressive, edgy and full of angst. I still love this record.''
Mad Anthony has shared the stage with numerous acts such as Toadies, Torche, Daikaiju and Big Business. The band's sound embodies the late-'80s buzz saw guitar approach of Ohio legends like Afghan Whigs and Prisonshake, with the vocal delivery of Eric Burden and The Animals. In fact, Jones said that Afghan Whigs bassist John Curley is a friend of the band.
Mad Anthony has had their music featured in several regional TV and film productions including "Roller Derby Queens," a documentary about the Cincinnati Roller Girls; ''Reel Cincinnati,'' a promotional video by the Cincinnati Film Commission; and "Radius," a production about the Midpoint Music Festival, a music conference in Cincinnati.
Guitarist Adam Flaig is grateful for the opportunities given to Mad Anthony.
"Any chance we have to reach new fans and meet new people or get a pat on the back, we'll definitely explore,'' Flaig said. ''Our greatest gratification comes from playing live shows and connecting with our audience. There's no greater feeling than when someone talks to you after a show and wants to tell you how great it is to find bands doing what we are doing and that rock 'n' roll still exists. In reality, this is the most selfish thing we do. We play music, a self-gratifying practice, ask our friends.''
Drummer Marc Sherlock agrees that Mad Anthony is a busy touring machine. The band is already preparing for their next record.
"We are about halfway through writing the new record and there is talk about doing a split 10" release,'' Sherlock said. ''We are just trying to stay as busy as possible. We want to keep playing. The more we play, the happier we are."